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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

I've been getting tons of e-mails and comments lately about which paint colors I use for my furniture and rooms. Here's a breakdown.

Probably the most popular project was this headboard:

I used "Norway Aqua" from Walmart with the minwax "provincial" stain over the top. The stain makes the blue more green (as it does with most blues or greens).

One more furniture piece, this armoire:

"contemplation" from Home Depot.

My daughters room:

"anonymous" from Home Depot on the top (gray color) and the color "swiss coffee" from Home Depot on the bottom.

My laundry room:

"Sea Salt" from Home Depot.

My pantry and pantry doors:

"contemplation" from Home Depot for the doors and "Gobi Desert" for the tan on the walls and "Swiss coffee" for the white design.

My bathroom pallet wall:

I have no idea. It was seriously just a mixture of tons of colors I had until I got the ones I liked. I added whites to grays and blues to whites. It was madness really.

My old living room:

"Gobi Desert" from Home Depot.

My old boys room:

"swiss coffee" on the bead board on the bottom and "Gobi Desert" on top

My old bedroom:

"Gobi desert" and "Swiss coffee" for the stripes.

My old bathroom:

"contemplation" from Home Depot.

My old kitchen:

"Swiss coffee" and minwax's "Provincial" stain over the top.

I obviously use a lot of the same colors in most of my rooms. I like to paint the walls mostly neutral so I can change the feel with accent colors and I don't have to repaint everything. Plus, I don't want my house to feel like a cheap Vegas hotel where every room has a different theme. That's why I like to stay in the same color palate through most of my house.

I buy all of my paint at Home Depot (excluding the aqua headboard). I usually find the color that I like and have them paint match it to the Glidden paint. It's cheaper than Behr and covers just as good. When I paint cabinets I buy Behr paint with primer in it to avoid peeling.

Monday, August 29, 2011

My husband has been gone for almost two weeks. And I'm already sick of it. I want my popcorn maker/ lawn mower/ trash taker outer back. On the bright side, I bought a plane ticket to see him. I will be spending my labor day weekend on the sandy beaches of Florida with the hubs. It's a much needed getaway. I'm starting to get my kids mixed up. It was really awkward when I tried to put a diaper on my 5 year old.

Anywhooskis while I'm relaxing on the beach, I'm going to figure out how to bring this baby into my life...

However, I refuse to spend $400 on this 5x8 rug and robbing Z Gallerie is morally questionable... to some. But mark my words. A reasonable facsimile will be mine very very soon. Muwah ha ha.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago for a partial room redo. My client moved into a tiny one bedroom apartment while she's getting her masters from ASU. She had so many great accessories I used. I especially loved her collection of vintage suitcases and couldn't wait to start on the project. Here are a few before pictures...

The challenges in this space were obviously the lack of storage space for her extra things she doesn't regularly use, and the bland foundation. Apartments here in Arizona typically have white walls you can't paint, some sort of light colored tile flooring and plastic blinds. They are basically stucco conex boxes. I tried to make it a little more comfortable and relaxing. Here it is after...

My goal was to give her a neutral color palette with the bigger items so she could take them with her to her next destination and easily change the scheme by adding different accent colors. I obviously reused her couch, a lot of accessories, and the t.v. stand. She sold her desk to make way for the slimmer, cuter version I made out of an old door. Under the skirt houses a small dresser on one side and a bookcase with her giant collection of dvd's on the other.

I wasn't planning on redoing her bedroom but I immediately saw a cool, feminine pallet headboard in the space. And because it didn't take any of our small budget to do it I figured, why not? I especially loved the idea of taking something so rugged and masculine like a pallet, and cutting a girly, sophisticated shape to it. The blueish gray color I painted it went so well with the bedding she already had too.

That's pretty much it. Here's a list of where I acquired some of the things in the space.

Pillows for couch: I made them (except the clock pillow, my client already had that)Jute Rug: Cost plus World Market ($40 cheaper than IKEA with a coupon)Clock above couch: Cost Plus World MarketCoffee table: I made it (but you can get one that looks exactly like it for $250 at World Market)Flowers on coffee table: Hobby LobbyWire baskets under coffee table: Home Goods (the store also had them in yellow)Beige curtains: IKEADoor desk: I made it using a door, dresser, and bookcaseSuitcase shelf: I made it from one of her old suitcases (the Flea Market Style magazine has a great tutorial on how to do this at the end of their newest issue)Accessories on shelf: My client had themHeadboard: I made it from a palletScreen: Yard saleBed skirt: Simply Shabby Chic line (Target)

That about wraps it up. I'll be doing posts in the next few weeks about how I did the coffee table and headboard. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me and I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Today I was driving home from Home Depot. I was somewhat stressed out because I had 4 kids under the age of 4 with me and I needed lumber. Which is not easy to move around. The boards were sliding out of the cart, the kids were crazy. It was frustrating.

I took a picture for my husband (did I mention he is away for EIGHT weeks of training) to show him how ridiculous it was. Him being gone was probably another reason I am more agitated than normal. Little did I know my spirits were about to get difibrillated. Ok, so that's not a word, but you get my point. Because when I came home this was waiting for me.

Wondering why I care so much? Not only is Flea Market Style Magazine my FAVORITE, I also happen to be mentioned in it! I'VE BEEN PUBLISHED! BY MY FAVORITE MAGAZINE!

I'm not sure if it's on stands yet because I don't have to go to 3 different drug stores and a couple Barnes and Nobles to find it. I WAS MAILED A COPY!

Thank you Christine and the rest of the team for the magazine. You literally made my dreams come true today.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

So I decided what I wanted and there was no talking me out of it. I wanted this beauty from Barn Light Electric.

$138 a piece, not including shipping. Boo. I almost bought two of them about 5 times. But the DIYer in me thought there had to be a cheaper way.

Turns out there is. I found these lights for $30 a piece at Lowes (they have the same ones at Home Depot).

I just spray painted them the red color I wanted. They look exactly like the ones I wanted but $63.00 instead of $276.00 not including shipping. I almost painted them yellow but thought I might get sick of that quickly.

I taped off the inside so I'd have a straight line. It took about 30 minutes to dry and they were ready to hang.

Imagine the possibilities! Buy this light (which is white on the inside by the way) and it can be whatever color you want if you paint it yourself. And cheap too!

As you can see, I decided to put the picket fences above the cabinets and I LOVE it. I just need to find more chippy ones for the front of my house.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Well, I finished my kitchen island. Almost. I have to get an over sized outlet cover from Home Depot because I got a little crasy with the saw on one side. But that IS the power of Home Depot right?

I really love the corbels on the island. I think they really make the space. I used 3 different ones because they didn't have any that were the same in our free pile. But I actually ended up liking it more.

I know, the lighting blows, but until I get up some light fixtures over the island, they'll have to do. Speaking of, which do you guys like better? I'm planning on hanging two. This oh so popular in blog land from ikea...

Or this one from Lowes?

The cheapo in me says the one from Ikea, but I already used it in a bathroom. I feel a little unoriginal. I kind of like the idea of having a white pendant light in there to keep the white thing going. What do you think? I would actually love to use one from barn light electric but I definitely don't see myself spending over $200 on two lights. If you've never been to their site, go. I love their lighting.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I determined that the amount of time I spend in this room directly correlates to the number of children I have. For example, I used to do a couple loads of laundry a week when I only had one kid. Now that I have 4, I do a brazillion loads a week. And my laundry room was less than inspiring.

It's a lot better now! I wanted a work space for folding clothes so I don't have to drag them through the house and pile them onto the floor in my bedroom just for me to avoid anyways.

I haven't really done any laundry since I built it so we'll see if I actually utilize the space. The nice thing is I just used supplies from my garage. The top is actually plywood but with the really dark stain, I don't think you can tell. I got the wooden leg from a wood working shop in Mesa. One of the bloggers my sister and I follow, Dorie, from Tuesdays with Dorie called us and said someone was giving away a bunch of wooden things like corbels and legs and things. So Tara drove into town and picked them up. I used 3 of the corbels in my island project that I almost finished. I'll post pics soon!

I'm thinking about hanging a bunch of windows from the ceiling with hinges to hit right at the shelf on the top half of the room. I just need to find a bunch of old windows!

*Edited*I realized after I wrote this post that I had an idea in my head of exactly what I wanted it to look like but I couldn't remember where I'd seen it. I was looking on pinterest and I found it again. But I don't know where it's from because I got it off another blog who had borrowed the image. So if you know where it's from, please tell me so I can give them proper credit.